Guild Wars 2

Lilith Ajit.6173:

It might be in bad taste but I have to say: in gw2, especially in fractals, sometimes you just lose progress.

I know, I know…it’s par for the course. My point is that bugs that make players lose progress, whether it be in dungeons/fractals, LS, WvW or anywhere else, should be top priority for fixes.

It’s akin to being sold a cellphone that occasionally can’t make calls or a new car that sometimes won’t start. It’s a thing that cannot perform it’s basic function (running a dungeon to completion), and I’d like to see these things addressed with a higher priority than ‘when we get around to it’. These bugs have happened to most everyone who runs fractals and dungeons with any sort of regularity, and I’d wager they affect plenty of people a day. Since we’re talking to Devs in here now, I just wanted to make my opinion known about it.

Regina, I’d like to add something about priorities. I’ll use the Cliffside Fractal bug (where the hammer disappears/can’t be picked up) as an example. This is a game breaking bug. There’s no fix for it – five people lose progress when it happens, as the fractal has to be restarted. This is completely unacceptable. Players should not have to wait for months for this to get fixed. It should be an absolute priority for ArenaNet to put a team on, push through QA and hotfix. This goes for any bug that stalls gameplay and makes players waste time on content that cannot be completed.

It’s all nice and good to talk about fixing little things in dungeons, or changing rewards, but when a bug is so evident, longstanding, and breaking to the content, it not being addressed in a timely fashion is demoralizing and frustrating to anyone doing that content.

Chris Whiteside.6102:

The precursor hunt is simply something we just wasn’t ready to be discussed. Case in point therefore regarding policy.

I’d like to address this specifically, because it keeps coming up, and it illustrates a larger issue.

Regardless of whether you jumped the gun mentioning it, it’s obviously something people wanted to hear. People keep bringing it up because it’s become obvious that the route to a Legendary isn’t functional with drop/forge RNG at this point in the game. It’s become more of an economic and playtime issue than anything. I truly believe you’d be hearing about precursor crafting at this point in the game, regardless of whether you’d mentioned it or not.

Having a route to a precursor means a focused goal that people can work towards. It’s also new content in some shape or form. Similar to new PvP and WvW maps, new dungeons, new open world content, it’s representative of something the game community wants – new content and new goals. The reason people keep harping on these things that you guys mentioned two years ago is because they’re still important and relevant, now more than ever, since so much of the game has become familiar to long term players. I understand the frustration of having people hang on your every word, but please understand that these are things that the community have prioritized over others and want in the game.

And thank you to you and all the other Anet folks that have taken time to read and respond, especially on your day off. It shows a marked change for the better and is much appreciated.

Here’s my feedback, for whatever developers might see this:

-There is nothing you can change in current dungeons, in a reasonable timeframe/workload, that will really revitalize the people that like dungeons. Bug fixes are nice, but a less buggy path is still the same path we’ve been running for 2+ years, just with less bugs. It doesn’t make the dungeon any less stale.

-You’ve had the same amount of time to collect metrics, listen to players, absorb feedback. Take that information and make something new and wonderful, that will engage players and keep them chomping at the bit for more. If you have to weave it into the LS, so be it. Try dedicating a team to it, like you have WvW/PvP in the past, and see what the results are. I’m guessing you might hit a home run.

-As has been pointed out, a couple hours of content every two weeks is not a replacement for permanent content. If you really want people to stick around and enjoy your game after they’ve been here awhile, provide good, lasting content for them to enjoy. This goes beyond the people that hang out in the dungeon sub. It’s true for all your players, given enough time.

Unpaid QA dept member, signing in.

Ashym conjures a wall behind the players and proceeds to FGS into it.

Ayrilana.1396:

Lol. Those prices have been pretty stable so no, I’m not buying that reasoning. What you’re describing is about helping yourselves rather than the economy. With the amount of players participating in this at the moment, it’s really having no impact on the economy. All it’s doing is helping players get the tier 6 mats either to use or to sell.

You can Lol. all you’d like, but you’d be wrong.
http://www.gw2spidy.com/item/24295

Because of supply and demand. It keeps prices for T5-6 mats in check, making them available to a larger amount of players. Otherwise, you have Vicious Fangs that only the ‘wealthy’ can afford, as the rising price of scarce materials outstrips the slow inflation of gold. Having commodities affordable to the middle class creates a robust economy where people are willing to spend their gold instead of hoard it.

You can still post on the forums when one account gets infracted.

In all seriousness, if you’re up for the task, double rewards from world bosses is nice.

The Spider Queen uses venom on melee players…oh, wait.

nexxe.7081:

synk.8762:

Nanashi.5704:

not having to buy tools again, not having to worry about how many you have left, and not running out in the middle of running around is an advantage.

Convenience =/= advantage.

Saving time and currency is an advantage. Player A with permanent tools will always save more time and currency. Player B will not, and will have to compensate for the disparity.

No, it’s a convenience. If you run out of mining picks half way through a circuit, the nodes are still there when you get back. If you have to spend time rearranging your bank because there’s not enough room in collections for all your materials, you’re not out anything.

Considering the gem to gold conversion rates, the game hasn’t been out long enough to recoup the gold spent on the gems necessary to purchase the unlimited tools. They are simply a convenience, much like the Salvage Bot, in that they take less room and require no refilling. The cost is a long way off from a savings.

An advantage gives a person a better rate of success in a given situation. A convenience allows a person an easier time in a situation. Endless Tools, the Salvage Bot, and most all of the gem store items are not the former, and are very much the latter.

Nanashi.5704:

not having to buy tools again, not having to worry about how many you have left, and not running out in the middle of running around is an advantage.

Convenience =/= advantage.

Purple Miku.7032:

I can’t believe no one has mentioned how god kitten kittening annoying it is when you get continuously teleported to the entrance of the weapons test room when trying to loot your end chest.

I thought it was just me… <.<

Ropechef.6192:

(((shakes fist violently in general direction of Dungeon forum)))

GAH!!!!!!

i am blaming all of you!!!!!

YOU!!!!!!

Tonight of all nights. After reading and following this woefully off topic ( but still fun ) thread.

EVERY SINGLE STEAK WAS ORDERED MEDIUM WELL OR WELL DONE!!!!!!!!!!

I have waygu beef,
I have Grass fed organic friggin happy cows WAYGU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(((sobs uncontrolably)))

A true travesty of tastebuds. I’ve you’re just going to torch the hell out of it, get a hamburger (not that it does the hamburger any favors either). Doing that to a fine piece of meat is horrible. They probably asked for ketsup too, eh?

Stuck working Saturday, or I’d be all over this again. It was a great time last go around. I’d encourage anyone interested in Arah to go with Dan and have a blast.

I’ve got right between ‘plenty’ and ‘too much’. Enough to pay the bills, along with some of that sweet, sweet walking around money.

My heart is filled with joy. Good for you.

Be aware, one of these times you’re going to get a bad group. It might be a bunch of jerks. It might be terrible players that make you want to shove your mouse in your eye socket. It might be…I dunno. There’s just so many things that can go wrong. The bottom line is don’t let it dissuade you. Dungeons are fun, and most of the time the people that do them are fun. Pugging means taking the good with the bad. Keep it up and have fun.

You were given the stuff during the living story, and are easily able to make the Exotic version of the backpiece. Everything past that is completely optional. Anet has stated multiple times that Ascended items are meant to be long term goals for players. They’re not meant to be gained overnight (via timegating and the mass of necessary materials), regardless of the fact that people can and do get around that, and are an optional goal for people that want to pursue it. The fact remains that Exotics are the de facto level 80/end game items, and they’ve provided a perfectly reasonable route to getting the Exotic version of the backpiece.

If you think 5 Pristine Fractal Relics is a steep entry point to ascended, try the minimum of 24 Bolts of Damask (that’s 7200 silk scraps) for ascended armor, or 1850 fractal relics for the ascended fractal backpiece. It’s a long, painful process for 5% better stats over Exotic, which really isn’t noticeable in everyday game play. I understand that people want the newest thing, but expecting it to be easy, or done a few days after it’s available isn’t realistic. Be happy you got a nice Exotic backpiece on the cheap, just for playing through some LS stuff.

notebene.3190:

I was looking at my achievements, and it would seem I went to 5 fractals, though might not have been on different days. If I had to guess, I seem to recall it was two different days?

So in theory, I have 2 of these things that I need, and need to go 3 more times on 3 different days? What do these things look like? My wallet shows I have 60 fractal relics. Is it something different? Maybe something I put in my bank?

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Pristine_Fractal_Relic (icon on the top right)

Regular Fractal Relics are different. They’re a currency that goes in your wallet. Pristines are an account bound item that can go in your inventory or personal bank. They can also be double-clicked to be broken down into 15 regular Fractal Relics, so if you can’t find them, you might have done that.

Go find some goat cheese and eat it. Your mouth with thank you. Creamy, zesty, full of flavor. A bit like ricotta, with less sweet and more ‘whang’. Awesome stuff, especially on pizza.

TooBz.3065:

I think people worry too much about flair.

FTFY

GuzziHero.2467:

You know that this and all criticism threads are actually pointless. Anet will carry on doing what it does regardless. We don’t matter anymore, as long as we keep spending money on gems. Which I won’t be doing anymore.

Now know you how people that love dungeons have felt for the last year and a half.

I’ve had the same experience, OP. We tried all the same things, and had the same deal with the hammer showing up for a split second before disappearing. We finally cashed in and restarted, as we couldn’t think of anything else to try.

Axelwarrior.9084:

Since ANet believes that Living Story and PvP is more important than Dungeons, maybe it just means you guys are a minority.

If Anet hadn’t run off the dungeon team, had continued developing new dungeons and improved/fixed the old ones, had put some work into things like mob AI, and had done a better job with the rewards structure of fractals, I think we’d see more people interested in them.

At two years in, I think it’s hard for people that are even casually interested in dungeons to get excited about them, outside a minority of new players that haven’t really seen them, and seasoned vets that have made dungeons their focus.

My guess is that if the stars align, we might see one new path for this LS. Otherwise, I think it’ll be an expansion that brings a new set of dungeons and a reward revamp.

I think you summed up the fight pretty well. There’s just a big difference between a list and actually doing it. It’s a bit like handing someone a list for how to fly a plane and expecting them to do it – there’s no replacing actually sitting in the kittenpit. The fight can be hectic, there’s a lot to remember, and in the heat of the moment, logic can go out the window your first few times. It’s really just a matter of doing it over and over.

Foefaller.1082:

…and I probably won’t take you up on the offer, as I’m not quite hardcore enough to consider soloing him, but thanks anyway

Ivan does a really great Arah tour some weekends, where he and four others go through all the paths. It includes meleeing Lupi as a group (x4, so lots of practice). It’s totally low key and fun, and definitely applicable to beginners. Keep an eye out for the next one to be posted here in the dungeon forums, and come along if you have time!

Meleeing Lupi is a pretty common thing these days. There’s less leeway for error, so it pays to know the fight and your class well. It really comes down to knowing his abilities and how to dodge/negate them.

Honestly, it’s not the kind of thing you’ll get right off the bat. It’s multi-phased with lots of abilites, some of the tells for his moves are subtle and fast, and it really takes just doing it over and over to get the hang of it. Practice makes perfect.

As Casmurro mentioned, Brazil’s guide gives you a seriously in-depth overview of the mechanics, so watch it over and over, then go give it a shot. Also, watch some of the solo vids for your specific class on youtube to get an idea of how to handle things with your skill set.

Did the tour today. It was amazing, and we had a great time. Dan’s a great teacher and I personally learned a lot. I’d recommend this to anyone who’s interested in Arah. I’ll definitely be back for more!

dlonie.6547:

Just FYI guys, you’re letting the terrorists win.

Screw it. Jihad against all non-elitists. I’m gonna shoe underwear bomb the next PHIW group I end up with.

Obtena.7952:

This shows you don’t understand other people’s values. Not everyone is trying to get out of ‘inefficient PUG runs’ so they have no reason to do what you suggest. Again and again … they don’t value what the content and message for those speed run videos have to show them. Why would they watch them?

If anything, it shows I don’t care about their values. That’s my right, regardless of how you feel about it. Don’t mistake my apathy for ignorance.

Regardless, I was talking about people that want to learn to run in the ‘zerk 80 fast’ crowd, but aren’t there. The question is how they move from one segment of the population to the other. I was simply agreeing with Spoj that doing the research before hand, meaning watching videos and reading guides, is the best way I see to do that.

I don’t labor under the impression that most players want to learn to speed run, as I mentioned earlier in the thread.

spoj.9672:

Its not hard if you take the initiative. I dont know why people even need to ask “how can i start learning”. Seems pretty obvious to me if you want to learn something new you should do the research and avoid asking unnecessary questions.

Pretty much this. I figure anyone that wants to move out of inefficient pug runs are aware of the situation and will do the research. Googling ‘gw2 speed run’ will get you 90% of the way there. It’s certainly not hard. Getting gear, build and an idea of what to do is most of it.

I’ll be honest, I’ve kicked players that were obviously not ready to get down and go. Usually when I’ve a limited time frame to play and just want to get some daily dungeons done before I need to log. Or when I’m not in the mood to sit through a wipe or three. Some days it’s fun to be the teacher, and sometimes it’s just irritating. Most of the time I just carry them and try to explain what to do, because kicking and reforming usually takes more time than just 4.5 manning it.

I agree that being upfront about wanting to learn is more attractive than just showing up, if you don’t have a clue about what to do.

So, I think this brings up an important question: how do people learn fast, efficient runs? I’d assume it’s a combination of knowing the path a bit (having done it inefficiently enough times), watching videos and maybe just jumping in and professing your ignorance with an experienced group and hoping they teach you. That’s pretty well how I started, anyway, except I kept my mouth shut and just watched and followed.

Do people kick players that join and ask to be taught, or that are obviously learning?

IvanTheGrey.2941:

How do you know what Anet intended or not? It’s been 2 years.

Anet probably doesn’t know whether it’s intended or not either, unless someone there has Hrouda’s phone number.

Put me down for the Sunday run. I’ll set an alarm and everything. Noob comms?

Tree.3916:

There are just as many zerker casuals and phiw hardcores. You are all perpetuating a false dichotomy. Many, many casuals love being efficient and playing good dps builds. Many, many hardcore players who log on 12 hours a day love playing cleric healers.

Yes, one might even think that the guides you and others have written are targeted at people that don’t have the time or interest to spend hours and hours theorycrafting and developing rotations, but still want the most efficient build.. But that might be a bit of a stretch.

Water > Cliff > Grawl > Mai > no reward/uninfused healing ring @ 50

Just because that’s what I’m used to. :/

JasmineLong.6514:

This is basically what a lot of people forget.

And it’s forgotten by both sides. There is huge amount of players that fit into the casual category. They don’t care about efficiency, or math, or rotations. They just do what works for them and have fun while they’re logged in. More power to them. They don’t run dungeons, or know they’re probably not going to fit into a ‘zerk 80 exp’ group, if they even run dungeons at all.

On balance, I’ve found most of the top tier players understand the casual mentality and respect it for what it is – another way of playing the game. If people want to get better, they’ll help. If people want to quietly go in their corner and kill Pinipals all day, they won’t berate them for it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve apologized to people obviously better than me for stupid mistakes, just to have them say ’it’s cool, you’re learning. You’ll get it", and then offer some advice.

The issue is people in the middle. The casual and elitist groups that forget that people are just in different places and mindsets in the game. Most forum warrior casuals have no clue how much time, effort and repairs learning to melee Lupi or Imbued Shaman takes. Or maybe they don’t care. A lot of ‘nouveau riche’ dungeon elites are so focused on speed and pushing their boundaries and getting to the next level that they can’t help but disdain the people with less interest or skill. Or maybe it’s just too close to home for comfort. Iunno. There’s certainly a segment of both populations that could stand to take a step back and ask themselves just how much this other guy is really affecting his day.

I think a major point that is rarely discussed is experience. By definition, the ‘elitest, hardcore’ crowd plays more than the casual, PHIW crowd. Therefore, those players have run dungeons more, especially if that’s their thing. Those dungeons have been around for two years, and for people that have run them every day, they’re a stale way of making money.

On the flip side, people just starting out, or who only play occasionally, or that spend time doing things other than dungeons, might not be familiar with them. They still hold some allure and mystery. As has been mentioned, watching videos and reading guides is not the same as doing it yourself. These people haven’t experienced the paths ad nauseum still might find a two hour CoF p3 exciting and enjoyable, whereas a seasoned vet can do it blind drunk on a laptop trackpad, and just want it done.

The point being, there is a progression. I would bet that a lot of the hardcore crowd have run dungeons in PVT gear, with Sc/F guards, at some point in their GW career. They moved on to what worked best for the group, so they could complete it more efficiently, because slowly but surely, the paths became more about getting done than wandering around, learning the bosses, and getting better at their class. The filthy casual of today can become the elitest scumbag of tomorrow, just by playing for long enough.

And that, son, is how babies are made.

You’ll have to check under the beard to be sure. It’s like sexing a mammoth.

Dramen Maidria.1034:

Wow so many people just got trolled. Does no one pay attention to the names on the posts anymore?

The kids aren’t reading these days. It’s all new fangled internet TV and mychatbook online and what have you. Dern shame, too.

Good lord. Nobody understands the mechanics of this fight since they fixed it. It’s not hard, I promise.

This poor Queen is stuck in a dank, nasty dungeon. All she really wants is a beer and a shot of whiskey. If you bring her some, then spend 2-3 minutes RPing with her, she’ll give you a buff that makes Kohler start a dance party. If you can Simon Says him for 1 minute with dance moves, he’ll give you the Triforce, and then you can defeat Ganon and cleanse the world of evil.

I thought everyone knew this already.

In the unlikely event that this is not a troll thread, and is instead posted by a new player, I’m going to respond. Probably because I’m drunk. In the afternoon.

First, dungeons in GW2 can indeed be hard, if you don’t know what you’re up against. There was a period of time when the game first launched that the general community found them quite difficult. The mobs hit hard, and there are a lot of them. After many attempts and much soul searching, people found ways to combat the difficultly of those dungeons, mainly through abilities like reflects, control, blinds, and most importantly, timed dodging. While it might not be apparent to a newer player, most, if not all damage in dungeons can be completely bypassed by using the abilities of the party and dodging attacks.

Prepardness is important when learning. Knowing the abilities of mobs and bosses. Knowing your class and the available abilities. Knowing when to use the right weapon set. Those are all things that can help you mitigate the damage and survive the encounter. If mobs are shooting at you from afar, Wall of Reflection from Guardians or Feedback from Mesmers (along with several other skills) can completely nullify that damage. Almost every mob, bosses included, that have a huge damaging hit telegraphs it, so watching for the windup means you can dodge the attack, completely avoiding the damage. Condition cleansing from many classes can remove all the effects on a party.

In light of this information, one of the ways the community has found to combat those dangers is through the tried and true formula of damage. Kill something before it kills you. Since most of that damage is avoidable once you know what to look for, the next step is to kill those mobs before they can savage your loins. Most melee weapons in this game cleave, meaning they hit several mobs at once, so grouping those mobs together through the use of skills like Binding Blades and Temporal Curtain means that the group can kills everything at once, quickly, without being killed themselves.

It’s really a matter of learning the encounters, practicing your class, and knowing how to deal with specific situations, given the abilities at hand. There’s certainly a learning curve, but once you have it down, it’s quite simple. www.gw2dungeons.net is a wonderful resource to learning the encounters, complete with suggestions for specific classes on how to handle things. Also, there are a plethora of videos on youtube to help you familiarize yourself with the paths before entering.

In case this is a troll thread…whatever. I’m drunk.

Obtena.7952:

Because what is ‘better’ depends on what a player values … some people don’t want to run dungeons in 6 minute speed runs, so doing more damage isn’t ‘better’ to them. This might be crazy but I’ve been in groups that actually kill the trash. For them, that IS better. I’ve teamed with people that CARE about how their armor looks … in that specific dungeon. Weird stuff, but it shows that what YOU value is not universal, so to expect a player to simply swap to ‘the best’ build isn’t actually as easy at you think it is.

And as I said, I don’t begrudge those people their mindset or way of playing. It’s fine with me if they’re having fun. I even join those groups sometimes. My primary guild is so completely casual that most of you guys wouldn’t believe it. It’s also filled with friends who I enjoy chatting with. So yeah, I get it. BUT, when I put up a LFG that says ‘80s fast experienced’, I expect that the people that join will abide by those standards.

If you started a level 50 fractal and put ‘required 70+ AR’ in the description, then someone with no AR joined, would you let them stay? Ressing them every time agony hits? Carry them through despite your description of required AR? I understand that builds and AR aren’t the same thing, but we’re talking about degrees here, and peoples ability to understand and read a simple description.

OK, I can see that for WoW … but how that’s applicable to GW2. We don’t have damage meters. I’ve seen vids of people soloing content in the worst builds possible … is that done in WoW? GW2 isn’t that kind of game. It is truly ‘casual-friendly’. Why is it reasonable to have similar expectations for two completely different approaches to content?

Because they’re not different, other than the lack of a quantifiable meter. They’re about pushing buttons, killing mobs, damage applied, positioning, and everything else that makes a video game a video game. Some people choose to take that to an extreme in both games, for a variety of reasons. It’s about optimizing your character and the outcomes of playing it, both solo and in a group. And yes, people solo all kinds of stuff in WoW. Sometimes wearing silly outfits.

Despite what the marketing hype tells you, GW2 is no more a ‘casual friendly’ game than any other. Do you really think all of the millions of people subbing to WoW are min/max raiders? The truth is, there are just as many casuals there as there are in GW2. There’s plenty to do outside dungeons and raids. There is simply an understood barrier of entry into some content. When groups come unprepared, the results are similar. It’s a lot of wiping and throwing bodies on the pile until you make it through. The groups that demand min/maxing and preparedness are analogous to the ‘80 zerker speed’ groups in GW2, as they want smooth runs.

Obtena.7952:

Players with values not affected by how others play have no reason, and therefore, are more tolerant to others way of playing.

That’s a bit like saying water is wet. The flip side of this is that you’re a part of a team. 1/5 of the dps, the healing, the combo fields. Some people prefer quick, smooth runs, without hiccups. The dungeons we’re talking about have been out for two years. The encounters are known, the mechanics are known, and a majority of players have experienced them ad nauseum. Asking those players, who know the dungeons in and out, to suffer through a slow, wiping, throw your bodies on it progression is a bit like working for 8 hours making minimum wage, knowing that someone is doing the same job for twice that much. If you can do better, why wouldn’t you?

I have no issue with players playing how they want. Nor do I take issue with newer players that don’t understand the game on the same level. What I do expect is that if I choose to run as efficiently as possible, to challenge myself to kill things in the quickest manner possible, and set up a group of like minded individuals to pursue that goal, that those wishes be respected in that group. Anything else is a bit like saying anyone should be able to play professional sports, since it’s just a game. There are barriers of entry into every aspect of life, be it games, sports, education, work, etc. I don’t understand why people take issue with that. Is it because it’s a game?

What’s really amusing to me about GW2 in general is this is the first game I’ve played where some people are absolutely insistent on telling others how to play and aggressively acting on them when they don’t … is this a thing with other games? WoW? I dunno but the idea that I play like someone tells me to because it benefits them is … strange.

Yes, it’s absolutely a thing with other MMOs. WoW is a different, but applicable example. People in raiding guilds were (and probably still are) expected to have BiS gear, consumables, have excellent rotations, situational awareness, and know the overly complex mechanics of very long dungeons. The biggest difference is that there were dps meters to tell how people were performing. If you didn’t make muster, you wouldn’t be asked back. It wasn’t even something you talked about. If you wanted to see the end game, you were expected to min/max.

Sign me up! I’d be an NA student. I’m comfortable with the basics of most paths, including Arah, but could use help on the finer points and advanced stuff like soloing.

+1 Arah/Fractals. But they’re fun because they’re well balanced and somewhat difficult, with interesting mechanics. If you’ve never set foot in a dungeon, you might start with something easier, like AC or CoF. When you feel comfortable in those, give Arah a try. No shame it working up to it.

This just in. Playing how you want includes being a kitten. Twitch stream soon.

stolenunder.7435:

I’m also finding the LFG environments detrimental.

When searching on the finder I normally only see 2-4 listings for actual groups, and most only want experienced players (half of them clearly say “No Nubs”).

Not that they could tell at first, right? But I’d rather not get kicked just for being called out, even if I’ve read about the dungeon and it’s fights. How am I supposed to get experienced if no one is even willing to help new players?

Honestly, this is how I started. I’d run a few dungeons with my small guild, which were long, horrible affairs. I was afraid to join speed/exp lfg groups, because I didn’t have a clue what to do. It’s really about just jumping in with both feet, a willingness to learn and a thick skin. It’s not hard, it just takes a bit.

Long story short, go check out gw2dungeons. Watch videos of dungeon runs. Get the basic mechanics down and know what’s expected in a general sense. If you feel comfortable, tell your group you’re new and want to learn. Honestly, dungeons aren’t hard or long enough for people to not just say ‘hey, go over there’ or ‘watch out for this’. You’ll get the occasional jerk, but just roll with it and you’ll be running in no time.

Robinschultz.9652:

In a time where Berserker is the only real way of progressing, then why I am getting hated for using what works at the scene? Because a guardian has access to wall of reflection does that give him a free pass even when the guy is clearly using Cleric’s armor just for the sake of better team contribution? So what I am not standing in range for spotter, or the frost spirit dies instantly wherever you spawn it at the fight. A warrior doesn’t get any flack for camping longbow dropping firefields.

The general conclusion really is that people hate seeing rangers use longbow. Period.

Wait, a complete stranger on the internet blamed his shortcomings on someone else? What world do you live in where this comes as a surprise?

Regardless of your build and usefulness, this is just the way pugging works. You can do everything right and still catch the kick, because people are people.

That aside, there’s some wise advice in this thread about what you could do to improve your situation.

I agree it needs a change. Because it limits party comps and play styles. Given pretty much any organized group, or a competent pug, you can bring all kinds of party comps and do well. Only your approach to the fight changes. You swap Ranger for Engi and Thief for Ele and you’ll still do just fine.

But right now, with FGS, you get groups sitting, waiting, demanding another Ele for FGS spam. Groups sitting, waiting, doing nothing while they wait for FGS to come off cooldown when they could have killed the boss in less time. Some groups think it’s a necessity, instead of a luxury. It lowers the skill level of a lot of pugs, that could be learning actual rotations and dodging mechanics.

There seems to be a divide in the playerbase between people who want to play and people who just want rewards. I have nothing against optimization or speed running, but saying that four people standing in place and hitting 4, without the need for dodging or skill rotations is ‘playing the game’, or suggesting it takes any kind of skill is a bit of a stretch.

Bring FGS dps in line with other elites (lower damage coefficients, make it targeted only, just have it summon one, etc), then given Necros a cleave and some boon sharing, and watch group diversity skyrocket.